Friday, April 7th, 2006
Around Northern New Mexico
Journal Staff Reports
Bataan Ceremony Set for Sunday
The New Mexico National Guard will assist survivors of the World War II Bataan Death March conduct their 56th annual ceremony at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Bataan Memorial at South Capitol and Don Gaspar.
The Bataan White Flag of Defeat will be raised commemorating the march by members of New Mexico's famed 200th and 515th Coast Artillery Brigades.
Sunday will mark the 64th anniversary of the surrender to the Japanese army of 76,000 American and Philippine forces— including the 1,826 men comprising the entire New Mexico National Guard— who defended the Bataan Peninsula.
The 10-day death march and internment that followed the surrender prompted Congress in 1945 to proclaim April 9 as Bataan Day.
This year's keynote speaker is Nancy R. Bartlit, historian and co-author of "Silent Voices of World War II: When Sons of the Land of Enchantment Met Sons of the Land of the Rising Sun."
Also, Gov. Bill Richardson has proclaimed Sunday as Bataan Memorial Day in New Mexico.
"We as Americans can never repay the tremendous debt of gratitude that we owe these remarkable veterans and fellow citizens, but we must always carry in our hearts the remembrance of all that they sacrificed on our behalf," said Richardson.
Following Sunday's ceremony, the public is invited to attend a reception at the Bataan Memorial Museum at 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe.
